


How Are You Alive?

by chawk1993



Category: Stargirl (TV 2020)
Genre: F/M, Gen, Injustice Society of America, JSA almost fangirls over Sylvester, JSA are family, Justice Society of America - Freeform, Mama Barbara, Papa Pat, Sylvester is Mike's godfather, Whitmore-Dugan Family, post-Season 1, pre-season 2
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-27
Updated: 2020-08-27
Packaged: 2021-03-06 06:00:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,431
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25858567
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chawk1993/pseuds/chawk1993
Summary: When Sylvester shows up in Blue Valley, Pat demands answers from his old friend as to how he is still alive and why he hasn't contacted him in over ten years. The new JSA also do their best NOT to fangirl over Courtney's predecessor.
Relationships: Barbara Whitmore & Courtney Whitmore, Cameron Mahkent/Courtney Whitmore (mentioned), Courtney Whitmore & Yolanda Montez & Rick Tyler & Beth Chapel, Pat Dugan/Barbara Whitmore, Sylvester Pemberton & Mike Dugan, Sylvester Pemberton & Pat Dugan
Comments: 1
Kudos: 20





	How Are You Alive?

**Author's Note:**

> Hi again, Stargirl fans! Holy... wow! I was NOT expecting that ending of Season 1. I wish the world was back to normal so we could see what happens next. Seeing as we won't have an answer until 2021, I thought I would write this.

_“I told you to stay in the car!”_ That was one of the last things Sylvester had said to Pat before he was meant to have died. Now, as he pulled his car up outside the Whitmore-Dugan house in Blue Valley, he wasn’t sure what he was going to say to his former sidekick and best friend. He knew there was going to be a lot of awkwardness and questions that needed to be answered, but Sylvester was willing to do whatever it took to get his BFF to forgive him for faking his own death.

It was hard to believe it winter as he hadn’t felt the cold in California. Blue Valley really was something else entirely. The last time he’d spoken to Pat, he’d just lost his wife and was raising his son, Mike alone in a tiny apartment. He’d asked his old friend to move in with him, but he’d be refused as Pat didn’t want charity. He could manage looking after Mike on his own.

Reaching into the back seat, he pulled up a jacket and slipped it on before he opened the car door to allow the cold to hit him. He’d travelled to a load of places, but never Blue Valley. The place was beautiful, and he marvelled at the house his former sidekick and best friend now lived in. It beat the tiny apartment in California. Sylvester pushed the door shut and locked the car before he made the decision to move towards the house.

Upon reaching the front door, Sylvester took a deep breath and knocked three times. After a moment the door opened to reveal a boy about 12 or 13 years of age. “Hi Mike. Look at you all grown up.”

Mike’s eyes widened as he took a step back to get a better look at the man. Not taking his eyes of Sylvester, he called, “Dad!”

_“Yeah? Mike, who’s at…?”_

Sylvester smirked at the sight of his best friend. He hadn’t changed. He had a coffee mug in his hand that said ‘World’s Greatest Dad’ on it with a child’s drawing on it. “Hi Pat. It’s been a long time, old friend.”

Pat’s eyes bulged. Fearing he was going to drop his new favourite gift, he handed the mug to his son. “Go put it on the counter.”

Mike didn’t argue as he did as he was told.

“Being a dad looks good on you. Always did.” Sylvester commented, still smirking.

“How is this possible?” Pat said, his shock evident.

“It’s a long story,” Sylvester said. “One that involves something called a Lazarus Pit.”

 _“Dad?”_ called another voice. This one, however was female.

“Give me a second, Court!” Pat called before he turned back to his old friend. “Come in. You can meet the rest of my family.”

Sylvester smiled with gratitude as Pat stepped aside to give him access to the house. “You’ve done well for yourself, Pat. I’m proud of you.”

Pat smiled in spite of the idea of his best friend somehow being alive because of a force he was yet to understand fully. He closed the door and lead Sylvester into the living room where four teenagers; three girls and a boy were sitting around in festive looking sweaters.

“Dad, didn’t you hear me calling?” asked one of the girls who was blonde.

“I said I was comin’.” Pat argued, he wasn’t made at her.

“Pat, who is this and why did she just call you ‘dad’?” Sylvester asked, nodding at the girl who had spoken.

Pat knew he couldn’t keep silent any longer. “Sylvester, meet my daughter, Courtney.”

Sylvester looked surprised. “Daughter? What is she? Your love child?”

Another of the girls who had dark skin and round glasses snorted. She gasped when the boy clamped a hand across her mouth. The other girl, the one with braids sitting in front of her shoulders looked apologetic.

“Ha. No,” Pat said awkwardly. “Courtney’s my stepdaughter, but she’s the closest thing to a daughter I’ve never had.” He turned to give Courtney an affectionate look.

Without a word, Courtney rose from her armchair and went to hug Pat.

On the couch, the girl with braids wrapped her hands around the dark girl’s arm while the boy removed his hand from her mouth and wrapped an arm around her shoulders, causing her to blush.

Sylvester couldn’t help but smile.

_“Wait, Pat said your name’s Sylvester, right?”_

Sylvester turned to see the dark girl had spoken. “Yes, that’s right.”

"Well, the only Sylvester we’re aware of is dead.”

Sylvester was impressed by the teenager. She reminded him of Charles McNider. “Well, I’m not dead. I’m very much alive… ahh…”

“Beth,” the girl smiled brightly. “This is Yolanda,” he pointed to the girl next to her. “And Rick,” indicating the boy on her other side. “We’re Courtney’s friends.”

Sylvester chuckled. “I can see that.” His eyes turned to Rick. “You look familiar. Have we met some place before?”

Rick felt his face flush. “Ah, I don’t think so.”

_“Honey, who was at the door?”_

Sylvester turned his attention to entrance of the living room to see a blonde woman who looked strikingly like Courtney standing there looking confused. A moment later, Mike appeared.

“Barb, come on in here. There’s someone I want to introduce you to.” Pat said ushering his wife into the room and to his side. “This is Sylvester Pemberton, my old friend.” He then turned to his best friend. “Syl, this is Barbara, my wife.”

Sylvester held out his hand. Barbara reached out and shook it. “It’s nice to meet you.” He released her hand before he turned to the others. “It’s nice to meet _all_ of you.”

The JSA nodded in acknowledge.

* * *

A few hours passed and the JSA and the Whitmore-Dugans got to know Sylvester. The whole time Pat remained silent as he tried to work out whether this was just a big nightmare that he hadn’t woken up from or whether it was true that his best friend and former boss was in fact, alive.

 _“Wait, so… if your sister was Brainwave’s wife,”_ Rick said slowly. _“That makes you Henry’s uncle?”_

Sylvester nodded. “Exactly. Part of the reason I came here outside of reconnecting with Pat was to reunite with my nephew. When I was growing up, this was before I met Pat, Merri and I were always very close. Being her big brother, it was my job to keep her safe, but she ended up saving me more times and I ever saved her. We became slightly estranged when she met Henry Snr.”

"How do you become _slightly_ estranged someone?” Courtney asked.

“Brainwave was never my biggest fan and I never liked him too much either. We learned to tolerate each other because of Merri. We both loved her and that was enough to get us to shut up.”

“So, what happened the night the ISA killed the original JSA?” Yolanda questioned, earning nods from her friends.

Sylvester sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. “That is still a mystery. Even to me. Though, it didn’t stop Henry and I from going up against each other that night.”

“That was when Icicle came close to killing you.” Barbara concluded. She was sharing an armchair with Mike, Max the dog lay at their feet.

Sylvester nodded. “Yes, exactly. I take it you’ve met the slimy bastard.”

The JSA looked at each other and nodded in unison.

“My boyfriend is Icicle’s son.” Courtney said hesitantly.

Sylvester turned to her. “Ah. You found out about that.”

“You know about Cameron?” Beth frowned.

“We didn’t know much about the ISA but did know bits and pieces,” Sylvester explained. “McNider was able to do some digging into Icicle and discovered his wife was dying of cancer and that they had a son.”

What surprised Courtney was that Sylvester wasn’t trying to tell her off for dating the enemy’s offspring. “Do you think Cameron has to the same powers as his dad?” she asked.

Sylvester was silent for a moment. “It’s possible. From what Charles found out, Jordan’s father, Sofus has the same powers as his son, but has not used them in years.”

Beth looked down at the floor. Just the mention of Doctor Mid-Nite made her want to cry but she held to it together. It was the holidays after all and she didn’t want to ruin it. She looked up when she felt Rick’s hand on her shoulder.

“So, Jordan’s powers are heredity.” Yolanda nodded in understanding.

“Like Henry’s were.” Courtney said, looking over at her friends prompting them all to bow their heads. Even Rick, who had a mostly an antagonistic relationship with Henry show their late savior some respect

Sylvester frowned at Courtney use of the past tense. “What do you mean, ‘were’?”

Barbara and Mike looked over at Pat who still hadn’t said anything and decided one of them had to break the news to Sylvester.

“Uncle Sylvester, Henry’s dead.” Mike said. He wasn’t sure why he was the one breaking the news to his godfather. He didn’t even know Henry.

“My nephew is…” Sylvester felt the saliva in the back of his throat thicken. “Dead?”

“He saved our lives,” Courtney said, her voice hoarse with emotion. “He went from being a bully to our friend. Sure, he broke Yolanda’s heart, but he was sorry, and he showed that by sacrificing himself for us.” It wasn’t her best speech but it was the best she could do without bursting into tears.

Sylvester knew that Merri would’ve been proud of her son for standing up to what was right. But he needed to know. How did his nephew die? “How did it happen?”

Courtney knew this was her chance to speak up. “We were in the tunnels underneath the Burman house looking for Brainwave. Henry thought he could save him and bring him back to the side of good. However, Dragon King had given him his memories back after I fried his brain with the staff.”

Sylvester smirked. “Ah. The staff. At least you were able to do something I couldn’t.”

Courtney was surprised by his response but chose to say nothing. Normally, she would have but she didn’t want to risk setting Pat off. It was the holidays after all. As she was about to sit back down, she felt her phone vibrate in her pocket. Pulling it out, she saw she had a text from Cameron.

“Problem?” Rick asked when Courtney hadn’t looked up from her phone.

“Quite the opposite, actually,” Courtney said. “I just got a text from Cameron.”

“What are you waiting for?” said Yolanda. “Answer it.”

Courtney bit her lip before she deciding what she wanted to type, not caring if everyone else in the room was watching her.

As her daughter typed out her message, Barbara decided it was time for Pat to break the silence. “Guys, why don’t we give Pat and Sylvester some space to talk, huh?” she rose from the armchair with Mike not far behind her. “Court, come on.”

Courtney continued to text as she walked after her mother and brother. Rick allowed Yolanda and Beth to rise from the couch before he did and followed them out of the room. Max trotted after him.

With the others out of the room, Pat looked over at Sylvester but chose not to say anything.

“At least say something, Pat.” Sylvester said, his eyes on his best friend.

Pat clenched his jaw like he was deciding what to say next. “What did you want me to say? ‘Welcome back. You didn’t die’? Where have you been all this time?”

“In hiding. If the ISA knew I was still alive they’d come after me.”

Pat couldn’t believe what he was hearing. It was the overused ‘I had to go into hiding’ drivel you often heard in television shows when an absent parent came back into someone’s life. It pained him that his best friend had made him believe for so long that he was dead.

“I could’ve helped you, Sylvester. I spent time grieving you. I had to tell Mike that you were dead and I even had to break the news to Merri that you were gone. From what I remember, she never forgave her husband for murdering you. Not long after that, she ended up dead at Brainwave’s hand. I felt guilty for not being able to help you and for not protecting her. She and Henry would both be alive now.”

“So, you’re pinning my sister and nephew’s murders on me?” Sylvester didn’t sound mad, but Pat knew him better than that.

“That’s not what I’m saying at all.”

“Then what are you saying Pat?”

“When you got hit by Icicle, we barely got away. When you told me to leave you, I refused to abandon you. You’re my best friend and the closest thing to a brother I’ve ever had. I wouldn’t have asked you to be Mike’s godfather if you weren’t.”

Sylvester couldn’t say he wasn’t touched by what Pat was saying. They had always been like brothers as his parents had thought of Pat as a member of the family. “Pat, I know I’ve been off the radar for a long time, but I came here because I need your help.”

“What for?”

“Do you remember The Shade?”

“Yeah. Why?”

“He betrayed Icicle back in the day when Project New America was revealed to the ISA.”

This caused Pat to freeze. “How did you know about Project New America?”

“I did some digging of my own when I was hiding out. However, I came up against a brick wall and thought you could help me like in the old days, but when half the country got brain washed, I knew something wasn’t right and went looking for you. Your landlord said you hadn’t lived in California for months and told me you’d moved here.”

“What did you find out?”

“Unfortunately, not much. I didn’t get very far but I did find something else out.”

“What?”

“The Shade betrayed the ISA because he didn’t like the idea of brainwashing people. But that’s not all. Turns out, the Wizard had a fragment of the black diamond that houses Eclipso.”

“Eclipso? I thought he was a myth.”

Sylvester shook his head. “No, he’s very real.”

“So, now what?”

“I was hoping your new JSA could help me out. We need to stop anyone who might have access to Wizard’s storage unit.”

Pat thought for a moment. “I think I know where to start.”

**Author's Note:**

> I know this had a bit of an abrupt ending but it was supposed to as it would lead into Season 2. Originally, Rex and Wendi were supposed to be mentioned but I didn't end up using them. If you loved this, be sure to turn out my unrelated Stargirl fic, A Wrong Turn.


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